25gfresh yeast, crumbled, or 6 g instant (fast action) dried yeast
350mlwater, at room temperature or cooler
10gsalt
1tbspolive oil, plus extra to top
za’atar, to top (optional)
How I make it
Mix 350 g of the flour, the sugar, yeast and water to a wet dough. Cover with clingfilm or a lid and leave until it bubbles and it’s doubled in size. This is called making a poolish, and allows the yeast to develop in a wetter (and therefore more yeast friendly) environment before adding salt (which kills yeast).
Mix in the rest of the flour as well as the salt and olive oil. Use a kitchen machine to knead at high speed until the dough lets go of the bowl, 2-3 minutes with my Kenwood. Cover with clingfilm or lid and leave to rise until doubled in size again. This rise may also be done in the fridge, in which case you can leave it up to 24 hours (though it will be ready after 3–6, perhaps even earlier).
Beat the dough back down by folding the edges towards the middle 4-5 times, turning the bowl as you go along. Wet your hands with a little water first to avoid the dough sticking too much to your hands. Cover again and leave to rise until doubled one final time.
Set the oven to maximum heat (300 °C for my oven). Remember to put the baking stone in, if you have one.
Scrape the dough out onto your work surface, cut into four and shape into rounds. Do it whichever way is more comfortable for you, then leave for 15-20 minutes. I do it like this: Scrape the dough onto a non-floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top. Use a metal dough scrape to turn the dough upside down, leaving the floured side down. Cut into four pieces. Fold each piece towards the middle from each side, flip over again and work between your hand and the dough scrape to a nice, round shape before leaving it for 15-20 minutes (as already mentioned).
Use your hands to shape the balls to drop-shaped pide. They should be around 1 cm (⅖ in) thick, a little more on the edges and transfer to a sheet of baking paper or a baking paddle, if you have one, sprinkled with flour. Dent the top using the tips of your fingers. Brush or sprinkle with olive oil and sprinkle some za’atar and flaky sea salt on top. If you want an even softer end result, use a perhaps more traditional milk and egg mixture instead of olive oil. Bake until the pide has started to colour, 5-6 minutes in my 300 °C oven – longer if yours maxes out at something less. Repeat with the other balls – you may be able to bake them in pairs depending on how large you make them.
Tips & notes
On US measurements for baking: I strongly advise always using weight measurements in baking. Volume measures are simply too inaccurate, often leading to disappointing results. Most kitchen scales, even cheap ones, usually have the option to display grams as well as ounces. I therefore don’t provide separate US measures for baking recipes.
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